Why would a bank need an app store?
For one thing, customers will demand it, said Simon Redfern, who heads up the Berlin-based Open Bank Project. The ecosystem of services built around core offerings has certainly helped companies such as Amazon and Apple.
Currently in discussion with a major central European bank, the Open Bank Project is looking to put its open-source app store, which currently has 13 app, on top of bank APIs. Its original app was The Singing Bank, which played up tones for positive events (deposits) and down tones for less happy events, like fees. (Redfern is a musician.) Other apps include Money Journey, which visualizes the movement of money on a world map, and Regulatory Detective, which helps banks examine products with an eye toward compliance.
Simon Redfern was in New York last week and stopped by the Bank Innovation office for a brief chat, a portion of which is below.